acknowledged pete. v nice.

Can anyone give advice for buying skis? I tried google, but mostly just got really bland advice like buy for your skill level and intended conditions, and to pick a length according to a chart/formula. I hope that some experienced skiers in this forum can give more practical and useful advice.

I am an intermediate skier - comfortable on most blue, can do easy/good condition blacks - and I'm moving to the Rockies. I intend to ski a lot and take lessons until I am comfortable enough to do backcountry skiing in most conditions. I've always heard that spring/end of season is a good time to buy ski equipment because of sales, so I am thinking of buying now even though there is less than a month of skiing left.

Is it worthwhile to do so? How do I decide? Is it better to buy online or at a store? Are custom fit boots worthwhile? What else should I consider? How much benefit will I get from waiting until next year to rent different kinds of skis to decide what I want? I will probably only ski once this year since I am moving at the tail end of the season.

Bolded is basically true and what you should be doing.

If you're going to take up backcountry skiing, pay your dues first. By that I mean take an avi-class, understand and respect the risks it presents, etc... The importance of this can't be understated.

Buying skis in the spring? Yeah probably, it's when you can get the best deals.

Do more research, talk to locals.

Probably cheaper online, but if you buy from a local store and develop a good relationship they might hook you up with tune-ups, pro-deals, etc. in the future.

YES. If you plan on skiing a lot, and had to chose one over the other, investing in good boots>investing in good skis imo.

You probably want to go a lot fatter than what you're used to, especially if you're planning on skiing lots of backcountry.

Depends. Obv trying out the skis before you decide on a pair is better than not. Thing is though if you can get a good deal on a pair in the spring/summer, if you happen not to like them you can usually sell them on Ebay or Craigslist or something in the early or mid-part of next season and not lose out on that much money. People are always willing to spend more when they have a pressing need for the product right?

Hope some of that helps.

Be smart, be safe.

swede nailed it. note that nowadays there are usually various side cuts that are also "charted" as the length one is. i.e. if you are more into speed then having a deep sidecut is useful (this refers to the difference in width of the top, middle, and bottom part of your skis). most non-powerder skis are built with a deeper sidecut now than they were previously. this helps turning but you have to test drive some of them to really know how it works for you.

i have a friend who is close w/ jj (armada) and i tried a few of those while staying w/ him in utah. i'll have to plug them b/c they are outstanding skis. i normally ski on 167s as i love moguls but i tried out his 182s and they were double rockered (so the contact points with the mountain make it ski like 170s). it was on these skis that i hit 65mph this season and i loved them. they do well on everything and are even good in powder. they also have cool designs on them, but that obv doesn't matter beyond looks lol.

but i'd think that in general a more standard ski would work really well for you.

Swede gave a ton of great advice. I'll just echo that going into a couple local shops and talking to them a bunch will be really useful for this purchase and future deals and would probably be worth spending a little more than online. Although, if you time it right, you'll probably match online prices with end of season/summer sales.

based on this thread i followed up w/ my friend and he said that b/c he's so close w/ the guy, my 182 armada skis are gunna be comped. they're normally quite expensive too so this is awesome.

nice!

**** luckbox

sick barg

not even a skier but this looks awesome and looks to be done incredibly well-

Candide is a ****ing boss

yup lol. i played poker w/ him (3/6, 25 max river bet) and he just gives money away. one of the smartest folks i know (real deal arbitrageur from late 90s is where he made his $) but can't figure out (or won't spend the time to learn) how to play poker.

I know ski season is over, but it's snowing where I live and it has me thinking about season passes for next year. This is kind of a long shot, but there are lots of people here so someone might now. Is VIP parking at Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta worthwhile? If no one has insight about this resort I'm interested to hear if VIP parking in general is worth the time it saves you. The parking costs over half what the pass does, and I'll mostly but not exclusively be skiing mid-week.

Who else is getting f***ing bored of summer?

this just made me go and look up some pics/reviews of the skis i hope to be getting (seems quite likely but no idea when i'll get them).

http://www.skiersrealm.com/connect/g...fficial-review

the negatives are hilarious b/c i rode them in spring skiing in utah (which was lots of choppy snow, had morning periods of crud, and random clumps etc.) and i noticed like none of that.

i also had no trouble at all coming out of turns at high speed (not sure what he considers fast but i mean 65mph) on edge. they aren't as tight/responsive as a more deeply cut ski but the fastest i went in my life was on those skis and there was a second where in the apex of the turn when shifting weight my inside (left) ski ran over some bumpy something or other and i barely noticed.

separately, the edge held really well on standard steep stuff. i pushed it pretty hard as well and really tested it.

but MOST important for me, they ski really well in the bumps. i was shocked but i guess the double rocker makes them an ideal ski for somebody like me and i plan on using them as my main ski.

so far summer is fun though b/c it's roller hockey season. but yea i've been dying to go skiing.

it's always roller hockey season dude, ice too

not when playing outdoors it isn't. and not when your roller hockey rinks convert to ice rinks in the winter

you guys don't have indoor leagues on sportcourt up there? lame dude

I've seen a few prop bets go up recently based around competing in the Olympics and I've decided to throw one out there. What odds would someone give me of representing the UK in Skicross at Sochi 2014. I've never competed in a ski cross race in my life, I've done some very basic short GS races when I was much younger (about 13-15 years old).

I was pretty athletic in my youth, multi discipline county champion in athletics, and played sport year round through school. I'm now 22 and have done no competitive sport or training for around 3 years. I'm pretty skinny now and feel the hardest part would be putting on the muscle weight before the UK trials which I believe are in April 2013.

In my favour is the fact that I've skied all my life, 6-7 weeks a year. I consider myself a strong skier but I have a lot to learn regarding racing. I have access to pretty decent training facilities and I'm motivated by both money and the chance to compete for my country so if I make this bet I will sure as hell be going for it.

Anyone want to offer odds on this?

i'll give you even money on 100 bucks provided you get no other action

3 months to go....... What skis have you guys been looking at for 2013?

I'm a massive Head fan so:
http://www.head.com/ski/products/ski...384/?region=eu
http://www.head.com/ski/products/ski...383/?region=eu

No new TwentyTwelves this year from Salomon, was planning on replacing my 2 year old ones this season with the 2013 model but no such luck, guess I could have guessed from the name.... Not sure what to get instead, the twentytwelves were the perfect all mountain ski, going to spend the next couple of months looking!

Anyone doing any pre-season in Tignes/Laax etc?

Hey guys. Im from Australia and trying to plan a year long trip round the world starting in Europe next September. I plan to spend maybe 2-3months in Canada snowboarding and playing poker basically. Was thinking Jan/Feb/Mar. Im after suggestions of where to stay for the best boarding experience and value for money. Want somewhere i can stay very close to the slopes.

I dont understand the pole, is that someone in front of you skiing, or some kind of bracket for the camera?

How does the camera stay stable?

Its a bracket for what I assume is a GoPro camera. Not sure how it does it but it gives a reasonable steady picture as you can see. I have one mounted on a helmet and the quality is always brilliant.

BOOM! I'm going to be living in Fernie for the 2012-13 season!

I am now a happy bunny. This will be my first full season in a decade, hopefully my old (32 with two surgeries) knees will hold up.

This means I can justify buying new board, bindings, boots, and gloves. Will probably look for '12 gear in pre-season sales or see if I can convince an instructor friend to abuse their industry discount for me.

Obvious brag is obvious